Filters for an old I.H.C.

[Chris142]

Hey people, new guy here.

I have a question about my 73'International pickup. It has an I.H. 392 cu in engine.

The engine is a "puppy mill" rebuild and seems to have some loose tolerances.

When it sits overnight the oil filter drains and the thing rattles untill it gets pressure. Most filter co's recomend the large ford filter (ph8-a, 51515, fl1a etc) Dont worry I dont use the orange ones I'm just using the #'s.

Wix recomends the 51452 which has a slightly different bypass pressure.

It doesn't matter the brand they all allow the truck to rattle and I feel that the rattle is causing damage. The rattle sounds like every rod/main bearing plus all 16 lifters.

Is there anything wrong with using a smaller filter to stop the rattle? The ph-16 has the same threads, gasket and bypass valve setting.

Wouldn't a smaller filter fill up sooner?

Yes I will lose some filtration but how much junk is in an engine that has good maintenance? I feel that the drop in filter capacity is worth it if it stops the bearings from hammering them selves to death.

I just replaced all the main/rod bearings @ 31k. Several were into the copper, #6 was quite bad. I'm assuming that the rebuilder didn't get all the junk out of the oil gally's when it was rebuilt.

 

[unDummy]

Most filters have an antidrainbackvalve which should prevent the oil caused clatter. Certain brands leak more/less than others. I would try a different brand of filter first or different size(look for oversized ph8a options).

I'm making an assumption that your engine is a little tired and is/will need some mechanical work to prevent noise. Live with it. Try different brands/weights of oil during your next oil change intervals.

Your car would be a good noise comparison for before/after use of autorx(see additives/cleaners section of the forum). If oil passage buildup(restricting oil flow) is occurring, maybe a cleaner will help.

 

[Chris142]

I don't think that cleaning the passages will help. The engine was rebuilt 31k ago. I replaced the main/rod bearings last week to get rid of a knock in #6. The crank is turned 20/20 and acording to the plastiguage the clearances are around .003-.004. Looks like they ground the crank just a little too much.

Inside the engine is spotless and It never goes over 3k between changes.

I use whatever oil is on sale....I'm not picky as long as it has the api donut and the latest ratings.

The engine has 8 sleeves! I think that when it was rebuilt they didn't get all the shavings out and that is what ate #6 rod bearing. The bearing had many grooves in it, but the crank looked fine and not damaged.

This engine has rattled from day 1. I have tried wix,purolater,motocraft(puro also),AC, Mobil, K&n and even Fram filters on it and they all rattled.

I usually run conventional 20w50 oil to keep the pressure up, also in the summer it gets over 110 deg here.

Would going to a thinner oil let it pump faster? My guess is yes but what about the pressure? What about the pressure when it's 122 in the shade here? These engines never had good pressure. The spec is 5psi @ idle w/30wt and 55 psi @ 2500 rpm.

With the 20w-50 I'm getting 17psi @ idle and over 60 @ 2500 rpm.